Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the new capital Amaravati would be included in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for which the State government would have to send proposals after geographical demarcation of the upcoming city.
Further, in addition to the 30 cities and towns from Andhra Pradesh selected under AMRUT, Mr. Naidu has included Kavali and Srikalahasti too in the scheme.
The AMRUT scheme aims at providing water supply and sewerage connections to all urban households besides enabling water supply as per the norm of 135 litres per capita per day. The Ministry of Urban Development has approved the Action Plan of Andhra Pradesh for the financial year 2015-16 for enhancing water supply in 26 cities and towns in the State, besides developing green open spaces and parks at a cost of Rs. 663 crore. The ministry will bear 50 per cent of the entire cost and Rs. 66 crore would be released shortly as the first instalment. Under the State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) approved on Wednesday, Rs. 646 crore will be spent on water supply schemes in 26 of the 30 cities included in (AMRUT). Rs.17 crore will be spent on promotion of green spaces and parks in all the 30 states.
Municipal administration principal secretary R. Karikal Valaven and director Kanna Babu made a detailed presentation on the action plan for 2015-16 to the inter-ministerial Apex Committee of AMRUT chaired by Urban Development Secretary at New Delhi on Wednesday. The Apex Committee approved the plan and suggested the State Government to lay emphasis on installing water meters to all consumers in urban areas.
